Several attempts within the art relating to disposable absorbent articles have been made to isolate fecal waste from the wearer. Fecal material which reposes against the skin is often a source of epidermal irritation and makes cleaning of the wearer more difficult.
One attempt is given by U.S. Pat. No. 2,690,749 issued to Nelson, Oct. 5, 1954, which discloses a diaper having separate recesses to accept urine and solid fecal matter. U.S. Pat. No. 2,004,088 issued to Alsop, June 11, 1935 discloses an absorbent pad having a large opening. However, neither reference teaches a means of preventing solid waste materials from contacting the skin of the wearer.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,532,093 issued to Lovret, Oct. 6, 1970, discloses a diaper having separate compartments for the collection of urine and fecal matter. However, this diaper does not have an absorbent core and would therefore be somewhat uncomfortable to the wearer.
An attempt to overcome these problems is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,662,877 issued to Williams, May 5, 1987, which discloses a diaper having an inelastic urine impervious facing sheet with an aperture to allow waste materials to pass through the facing sheet into the absorbent portion of the diaper. Williams teaches applying longitudinally oriented elastic strands on either side of the aperture.